Holder for wire leads



Sept. 7, 1954 K. A. SCHMULDT HOLDER FOR WIRE LEADS Filed April 3, 1953 FIG 2 FIG mvwron I? 6 m. w// L E. 4 w, y; 2 2.

K A. SCHMULQT Arrbn/bsr Patented Sept. 7, 1954 HOLDER ron WIRE LEADS Karl A. Schmuldt, Emmaus, Pa., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 3, 1953, Serial No. 346,556

Claims.

This invention relates to a wire holding device and particularly a holder for a pair of wire leads.

In the art of transistor manufacture, the pairs of fine wire electrodes for the transistors must be processed through a number of operations. They must be bent to required configurations, the semi-conductor contacting ends must be shaped, they must be spaced and positioned on the semiconductor body and they must be held thereon while the transistor is capsulated. Due to the small size of the wires involved, these operations present considerable difiiculty in handling especially in controlling the spacing between the wires.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple holder in which a pair of wires may be securely held while processing and in which the spacing between the wires can be varied and accurately controlled.

In accordance with the above object, the present invention, in one embodiment thereof, comprises a base member provided with a pair of arms pivotally mounted near one end of the base, the arms having jaws extending beyond the end of the base. A jaw member is pivotally mounted on each arm to hold a lead wire against the overhanging jaw and a micrometer type control is provided at the other end of the base for adjusting the spacing of the jaws.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, the base member is provided with smooth, parallel sides for fitting into the ways of the associated fixtures used in processing the wires held in their holder. A stop member is also provided on the base member for positioning the holder in these fixtures.

These and other features of the invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view, partially in section, of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the device of Fig. 1 through the plane indicated by the section line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view, partially in section, of one of the jaws of the device of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, two movable arms 4 and 5 are pivotally mounted on one end of base member 6 which is provided with smooth, parallel sides I and 8 for fitting into the ways of the associated fixtures which perform the operations discussed above. Stop member or shoulder 9 is also provided on the base for positioning the holder in the ways. These associated fixtures are not shown or further described herein since they are not essential to a complete understanding of the invention.

The ends of the arms 4 and 5 which extend beyond base member 5 ar provided with wire receiving jaws it! and H, respectively. These jaws comprise pivoted, spring biased, jaw members l2 and it which clamp wire leads 2| against companion jaw ridges i i and I5 which are provided on the arms 3 and 5, respectively. In the View of the jaw l ii shown in Fig. 3, it is seen that the member it has an inclined surface 30 for securely holding the wire 2! against the ridge l4. Ihe spring biasing of the jaw assembly is more clearly shown in Fig. l, in the partially broken View of jaw l i wherein it is seen that a jaw member pivot i 5 which is secured to arm 5 has a hole ll extending transversely therethrough in which one end of a spring is is secured. The other end of the spring is is tensioned against a pin 20 which is fixed to the jaw member l3. To open the jaws for inserting or removing wire leads 2| therefrom, the pins L9 and 20 are spread apart which causes the jaw members it and [3 to pivot away from the ridges Hi and i5, respectively. For illustration, jaw l l is shown in its open position, some external force being required to hold the jaw open due to the action of the spring. Limiting shoulders 22 and 23 are provided on the arms as stops for positioning wires inserted in the jaws.

The spacing between the jaws and, therefore, the wire leads 2!, is controlled by aconventional micrometer device, which is mounted on the end of the base opposite the jaws, and a spring 24, the action of which holds the arms in contact with a separating member 29. The desired spacing of the Wires is obtained by adjusting a micrometer screw 3! to vary the position of member 29 which, in engaging inclined surfaces 25 and 2t of arms 4 and 5, rotates the arms 4 and 5 about their pivots 2'5 and 28, respectively. Dowel 32, which rides in a circumferential groove 33 of a rotatable micrometer advancing member 34!, couples the separating member 29 to the member 34.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A holder for a pair of wire leads comprising a base member, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on one end of the base member and having jaws protruding beyond said end of the base, a jaw member pivotally mounted on each arm to hold a wire against the protruding jaw and means mountd on the other end of the base for adjusting the spacing between the jaws.

A holder for a pair of wire leads comprising a base member, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on one end of the base member and extendin beyond said end, each of the arms being provided with wire receiving ridges along one side of the extending portions thereof, spring biased jaw members pivotally mounted on the arms to hold wire leads against the ridges and micrometer means at the other end of the base for adjusting the spacing between the arms.

3. A wire holder comprising a base member having smooth, parallel sides for fitting into the ways of an associated fixture and a stop member for positioning the holder in the ways, a pair of arms pivotally mounted near one end of the base and having overhanging jaws, a jaw member pivotally mounted on each arm to hold a lead wire against the overhanging jaw and micrometer means at the other end of the base for adjusting the spacing of the jaws.

a. A holder for a pair of wire leads comprising a base member, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on one end of the base member having jaws eX- tending beyond said end of the base, the arms being provided with wire receiving ridges along one side of the jaws thereof and having spring biased jaw members pivotally mounted thereon to hold wire leads against the ridges, the ends of the arms opposite the jaws having tapered edges, a separating member for the arms, spring biasing means for holding the tapered edges of the arms in sliding contact with the separating member and micrometer means mounted on the other end of the base for moving the separating member for adjustin the spacing between the jaws.

5. A wire holder comprisin a base member having smooth, parallel sides for fitting the ways of an associated fixture and a stop member for positioning the holder in the ways, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on one end of the base mem her having jaws extending beyond said end of the base, the arms being provided with wire receiving ridges along one side of the jaw thereof and having spring biased jaw members pivotally mounted thereon to hold wire leads against the ridges, the ends of the arms opposite the jaws having tapered edges, a separating member for the arms, spring biasing means for holding the tapered edges of the arms in sliding contact with the separating member and micrometer means mounted on the other end of the base for moving the separating member for adjusting the spacing between the jaws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,142,024 Chott June 8, 1915 1,334,971 Shore Mar. 30, 1920 2,553,620 Yeazell May 22, 1951 

